Manitoba’s school system overemphasizes university entrance, and the result is huge drop-out rates in universities and a shortage of skilled tradesmen. The German system of apprenticeship works better.
Dennis Owens
School Choice and Special Education Students
Programs in Florida and Utah that offer the parents of special needs students a choice between special programming and mainstreaming are proving superior to policies directed by political correctness.
Teacher Certification in Canada
Current methods of certifying teachers are not able to meet coming shortages. An alternative certification pioneered in New Jersey offers a way out.
Creating a High Performance Public School System in Manitoba
If we adopted a clear-headed, results-oriented philosophy of education „Ÿ and embarked in a consequent manner on the reform of standards, finances and administration „Ÿ we could create the strongest public school system in the country. Instead of the province which spends the largest percentage of GDP on schools, Manitoba would become renowned as the province that achieved the best results.
Featured News
There’s Nothing Fair About Canadian Health Care
For the past 14 years, Vancouver surgeon Dr. Brian Day has led the charge for health-care reform, pushing for the right of patients to pay for private care if their health and well-being are threatened as a result of waiting in a stagnant and overburdened public...
Transformers: More than Meets the Eye
The path to net zero, based on the much disputed belief that carbon dioxide is a pollution, is more steep and impractical than most people realize. Replacing fossil fuels with clean electricity will require much more power generation and a greatly upgraded grid to...
A Tale of Two School Boards
Nominally similar, the two largest school divisions in Edmonton and Winnipeg follow quite different directions in administration, programming and accountability.
Manitoba’s School Board Amalgamations—Before and After
Forced amalgamations of school divisions have not lived up to their billing. Instead of saving money, they raised costs substantially.
Educational Achievement in Canada
Alberta’s educational system is distinct from other provinces in two significant ways. It offers more parental choice and more accountability through standardized provincial examinations. It also performs the best in Canada by a substantial margin.
An Unnecessary Burden on Our Teachers
The government should cancel its plans to implement subjective assessments at the middle level and instead reinstate objective year-end examinations in core subject areas.
More Private Healthcare in Canada?
A new book puts Canada’s Medicare system in context by describing the private healthcare sector in other countries with universal access
Depoliticized pensions
Citizens have more secure retirements when they have more say in their pension investments and government stays out of the way.
Eliminating School Property Taxes in Manitoba
The Province of Manitoba should assume full responsibility for public school financing and abandon property taxes as a revenue source.
Approve Waverley West Subdivision
The public policy case for approving higher housing supply for Winnipeg. Remarks by Senior Policy Analyst Dennis Owens to a City of Winnipeg committee regarding Waverley West subdivision.
Manitoba’s Public Schools – Economic Powerhouse?
If Manitoba divisions accepted just 8,500 international students to compensate for enrolment declines, and each of these students paid tuition in the amount of $10,000, an extra $85 million in funding would be pumped into the public school system and could improve instructional programs for all students.